Frozen Moments
by Insectoid
Summary: A collection of Frozen one-shots and short stories that I've written set in the canon 'verse. Currently has 4 stories. (Updates infrequently; new stories will be added when written. Follow and review!)
1. Moonlight

_**A/N:** This a short one-shot that may or may not be incorporated later into my main story (_The Calm After the Storm_). I wrote it while I was in bed sick a couple weeks ago, with nothing more appealing to do besides read and write._

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**Moonlight**

It was a warm summer's afternoon, and Anna had just seen Kristoff off on one of his ice-harvesting trips. The mountain man's new duties as Royal Ice Master and Deliverer kept him busy for much of the summer months, so the princess spent as much time with him while he was in Arendelle as she could. Now she stood at the town gates, in her favorite green summer dress, wishing she had gone with him.

So, on a day like today, with Kristoff gone up into the mountains for a week, Anna had no choice but to hope that her sister had some free time to spend with her. Olaf wasn't always around (often joining Kristoff and Sven on their trips), and even mingling with the people of Arendelle Town got boring after a while. Anna was as outgoing as any princess could be, often conversing with townsfolk or playing games with the children. But sometimes, she just needed Elsa.

Today, Anna was extra-hopeful, because she knew that the Queen had no more meetings scheduled for the day. As part of her training as heir presumptive to the throne, Anna had helped her sister go through and sort the latest massive pile of paperwork in the study, so maybe—just maybe—Elsa could take a break from affairs of state for a little while. The princess dashed back to the castle at her usual energetic pace, and went in search of her sister.

Strangely, the throne room, study, and Elsa's bedroom were all empty. _Maybe she's in the library,_ Anna thought. She doubted very much that she would be in the dungeon again (as there were no prisoners to visit), so the library seemed to be the best bet. As she drew close to the library, Anna could begin to hear sounds coming from inside. It sounded like someone was playing the piano.

Opening the door slowly (so as not to disturb the person playing), Anna stepped quietly into the room, closing the door behind her, and looked for the source of the music being played. It was coming from the grand piano situated off to one side of the large library, and seated at the keyboard was Elsa herself, still in her green-and-black dress with her hair up, as if she had just come out of a meeting. She was playing an almost melancholy tune, and seemed not to notice Anna's presence at all.

"I didn't know you could play, Elsa," Anna said softly, walking toward her. Elsa jumped, startled out of her concentration, and the pedals under her feet frosted over. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" Anna said quickly, placing a comforting hand on her sister's shoulder. "I didn't mean to disturb you. I'll go, I'll just... go sit over here..." She walked over to the sofa near the fireplace, and plopped down onto it, then turned so she could see Elsa.

"I actually... haven't played for quite a long time, Anna," Elsa said finally, willing the ice on the pedals away with a wave of her hand. "Not since I was ten or twelve years old. So I'm a little out of practice."

"That was after we were separated," Anna observed, fingering a strawberry-blonde braid as she thought. "Was there any particular reason why you stopped playing? Was it because of your powers?"

"Partly," the blonde admitted, "but originally that was the whole point of learning to play. Papa believed that it would help me focus, and learn how to calm myself when I was agitated." She sighed. "I probably stopped playing around the fourth or fifth time I froze the pedals over. The keys never froze, thankfully, because of my gloves. Fortunately, I can undo little accidents like that, now." She took a deep breath, and resumed playing.

"What is that you're playing?" Anna inquired. The piece in question consisted mainly of a triplet rhythm in the right hand, and occasional chords in the left, with the right adding additional chords further on. It had a dark, almost mournful tone to it, though it was played fairly quiet overall.

"It's the first part of a sonata by the German composer Ludwig van Beethoven," Elsa replied, pausing her playing, "published in 1802. I have heard a few people call it by the name 'Moonlight'."

"Seems fitting," Anna said, shifting on the sofa to make herself more comfortable. "I'd like to stay and listen, if it doesn't bother you."

"Not at all," her sister said. "I always enjoy your company, Anna."

The Princess smiled and closed her eyes as Elsa started playing again, listening to the music. The piece was slightly louder at times, the chords more insistent, but eventually it ended as softly as it began.

"That was wonderful, Elsa," Anna said, getting up off the sofa and walking over to stand next to her sister. "You play beautifully."

"Thank you," the Queen replied, "but I'm sure that I need more practice, especially for the rest of the piece."

"Well..." Anna trailed off, brushing back an errant lock of red-gold hair before trying again. "Kristoff is off on another trip, and I know you don't have any more meetings today, so I thought we could spend some sister time together."

"What did you have in mind?" Elsa asked, but Anna saw her smile slip, looking a little disappointed.

"Elsa, if you don't want to..." Anna said, wishing she hadn't brought it up.

"No, it's okay," her sister said, rising from the bench. "What would you like to do?"

"How about this," Anna said, gesturing for Elsa to sit again. "I'll go fetch us some chocolate from the kitchens, and then you can play another piece for me."

"Are you sure?" Elsa asked. "I don't want to... _bore _you, or anything."

"Of course I won't be bored," the strawberry-blonde retorted. "Elsa, you rarely get any time off from your duties. If this is what you want to do, I'll always be willing to listen."

"Thank you, Anna," Elsa said, her smile returning. "Why don't you go get that chocolate..."

A few minutes later, Anna returned from the kitchens with a tray of chocolates, slightly out of breath from running. Elsa was sitting on the sofa when she entered.

"How do you run through the halls without spilling any of that?" Elsa asked her.

"Umm... practice?" Anna said, setting the tray down on the table near the sofa. Elsa raised an eyebrow. "It's not like it's the first time I've done this."

"I don't doubt it," the Queen replied, selecting a piece of chocolate and popping it in her mouth, before settling back on the soft cushions.

"Hey," Anna objected, grabbing her own piece and flopping down next to her. "You don't think I know what happened all those times I left chocolate outside your door?"

"I don't know..." the blonde said innocently. "Maybe Papa came by and ate it?" Anna gave her a flat look. "Mama?" Anna didn't blink. "Okay, fine, I ate it. But surely you're not accusing me of raiding the kitchens?"

"Of course not," Anna said, biting into her piece. It tasted wonderful, as always. The kitchen staff always did their best to please their Princess—and their Queen. "Doesn't mean I haven't seen some suspicious-looking trays headed to your study."

Elsa picked up another chocolate. "I do have to eat while I work sometimes, Anna." Anna simply smiled at her, and had to fight the urge to laugh. Finally Elsa caved. "It's good brain food, okay?"

"All right, all right," Anna laughed. Gesturing over to the piano, she said, "You mentioned there was more of that sonata thing?"

"Yes, Anna," her sister replied. "There are three parts, or movements. But that isn't the only piece I could play." She stood and walked over to the piano, another chocolate in her hand.

"Mmm," Anna murmured around a piece of chocolate. "You can surprise me, then." She sat up straight, hoping she looked attentive enough.

"All right, Anna," the Queen said, then smirked. "But if you fall asleep, I get to drop a snowball on you. Deal?"

"Deal," Anna agreed, and listened as her sister began to play again.

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_**A/N:** This piano scene has been rattling around in my head for a while, but it wasn't until I started writing it that the chocolate part came along. _

_–Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 14 (Op. 27, No. 2), published in 1802, is one of the composer's most famous piano compositions; the first movement, _Adagio sostenuto_ (which Elsa plays here), is particularly well-known. It was first given the name "Moonlight" in 1832 by a German music critic, and it wasn't much more than a decade before it was being called this in German and English publications. It wasn't until the late 19th century that the name became commonly used, so where Elsa heard the name is a mystery. (Perhaps in correspondance with someone?)_


	2. Déjà-ACHOO!, Part 1

**A/N:** This is a short story I started a couple of months ago, which takes place several months after the events of _"Frozen Fever"_. It will be posted in short parts, mostly because I've had a lot of trouble getting inspired to write lately.

Followers will notice that I've also changed the name of this FFnet story; it is now a collection of my one-shots and short stories for Frozen, with "Moonlight" being the first.

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**"Déjà-ACHOO!" (Part 1)**

Anna couldn't figure out why her sister hadn't come down to breakfast yet.

This wasn't _particularly_ unusual—it had been over a year since what most of Arendelle called the "Great Freeze", and Elsa still persisted in having unusual hours, working late into the night, and rising early in spite of so little sleep. Anna was concerned for her sister's health, fearing what might happen if she pushed herself too hard.

What was unusual now was that Anna was awake and having breakfast, and there was no sign of the Queen—usually, Anna knew, it was the other way around. But ten o'clock had to be an all-time record for Elsa not showing up. Unless she had gone out (which was unlikely, given her recent workload), the only times her sister did not rise at a reasonable hour were on the weekend (unless there was an emergency), on holidays, and... when she was sick.

Anna set her fork down next to her half-eaten breakfast (eggs and biscuits, today), and rang the little bell on the table.

"Is something wrong with your eggs, dear?" Mistress Nora asked, bustling into the room. The head cook was one of the few castle staff who seldom used formalities with the princess.

"No, not at all, they're wonderful, really!" Anna said quickly. "Best I've ever had. I'm just worried about Elsa. Can you ring for Kai, please?"

"Of course, Your Highness," Nora replied, all business now. She returned to the kitchens, and a loud chime was heard. A few minutes later, Kai appeared.

"Have you seen my sister this morning?" Anna asked without preamble.

"No, Princess Anna, but I did call on her earlier," the portly man explained, "and she claimed she was busy. That was several hours ago," he added, glancing at the clock on the mantelpiece.

"Hmm," Anna said. "You know, Kai, I kind of wonder if she's all—" A loud clattering sound cut her off. She and the butler dashed out of the dining room toward the source of the commotion, the great spiral staircase. Or rather, what was at the bottom of it.

As both a child and a young adult, Anna had had many mishaps around these suits of armor—crashing into them after a bad dismount sliding down the banister, nearly crashing the two-seater bike into them, maybe one or two other crashes—but this time, there appeared to be no explanation for the suits falling over. Or so she thought, until one of them started wiggling. Not a lot—but enough to make Anna jump a foot in the air.

Collecting herself, Anna stepped forward and poked at the seemingly-alive suit of armor with her foot. When nothing happened, she reached down and pulled the gauntlet off that she knew was loose. A small snow-creature popped out of the suit, and Anna gave a yelp of surprise.

It had little round feet, no arms, coal eyes, and a cheeky grin on its face. _A snowgie,_ Anna thought with horror. That was what she and Kristoff had decided Elsa's little sneezed-up snowmen should be called, and its appearance here could mean only two things: either one had escaped and come down from the North Mountain, or Elsa really _was_ sick.

"Kai, fetch the Captain of the Guards, please," Anna said with as much formality as she could muster.

"At once, Your Highness," Kai said, bowing before heading to the barracks.

Anna picked up the snowgie before it could get away, and set it on her shoulder, hoping it would stay there. She poked around the suits of armor some more, and found two additional snowgies.

_They come in threes,_ she thought ruefully, as Kai and Captain Rolf returned.

"You sent for me, Your Highness?" the Captain asked, gaping at the snowgies sitting on Anna's shoulders. She thought she saw him mouth _"Not again"_, but she wasn't sure.

"Yes. Rolf, Kai..." The princess trailed off, wondering what she would have them do. "I'd like you to do something. Two somethings. One, keep an eye out for these things"—she indicated the snowgies—"and if you find any, try to dissuade them from leaving the castle. And two..." She looked directly at Captain Rolf now. "Under _no circumstances_ is my sister to leave the castle while she's sick. Those are my orders."

"But, Your Highness, the Queen's word supersedes—" Rolf cut himself off at the challenging stare Anna hoped she had on her face. "Yes, Your Highness," he conceded.

"Good. I'm going to go find Elsa. Oh, Kai..." she said, stopping the butler before he could leave. "Could you do me a favor, and find the Ice Master? I may need his help."

"Of course, Princess Anna," Kai replied, and left.

_Kristoff probably won't be happy about it,_ Anna thought. _He didn't seem too thrilled after dropping off that army of snowgies last time..._

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_**A/N:**__ I'd been wanting to do a "sick Elsa" scenario for a while, but wasn't really inspired to until _"Frozen Fever" _came out. (That I waited two months to try writing one is beside the point.)_

–_Mistress Nora and Captain Rolf are two of my OCs (who don't really have backgrounds yet) from _The Calm After the Storm_._

–_I was obviously thinking of the scene in "For the First Time in Forever", when Anna shakes the hand of the suit of armor, and the whole arm comes off._

–_Kristoff's prior misadventure with the snowgies will be expanded on in later chapters._


	3. Déjà-ACHOO!, Part 2

**A/N:** At long last, the second installment of this short story (because I'm lazy and uninspired, the chapters are short). Kristoff's POV this time; next will be Snow Sisters. :)

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**"Déjà-ACHOO!" (Part 2)**

It had been a fairly typical day so far for Kristoff. Get up, dress, feed Sven, feed himself, and go into Arendelle Town to sell ice. As autumn was quickly approaching, the Ice Master knew that his business was going to taper off sharply in the coming months, at least until spring came again.

He was just about to remark to Sven about how slow business was today, and how he may as well take a nap, when the Royal Handler strode toward his stand. The portly man was by himself, with no cart in tow, so it was unlikely he was here to do business.

"Good day, Master Bjorgman," Kai greeted.

"Hey, Kai," Kristoff said. "I'm guessing that you aren't here to buy ice." When Kai shook his head, he went on. "Is something wrong? Did Princess Anna send for me?"

"Yes, and yes," the Royal Handler replied. "The princess requires your assistance with an urgent matter concerning Queen Elsa."

"Okay," the mountain man said. "What sort of an urgent matter . . .?" He trailed off as Kai pulled out his handkerchief and mimed sneezing into it, with an exaggerated "At-choo!"

Kristoff frowned, then gave a start as he realized what Kai was trying to tell him. _Elsa has a cold. Again. Keep this between us. Don't want to spread panic._ "All right," he said. "I'll get to the castle right away."

"Thank you, Master Bjorgman," Kai said. "You'll most likely find the princess in the family wing."

"Thanks." Kristoff pulled out a carrot and offered it to Sven, saying, "C'mon, buddy. Anna needs our help."

It was just as well that business was slow, as few would notice his sudden departure. The Ice Master wasted no time in hitching up Sven and driving the cart back to the castle.

At the courtyard, he turned and stopped the cart just inside the gates, out of the way. Unhitching Sven, he told him, "Listen, Sven, do you remember Anna's birthday, and how her sister was sick?" At the reindeer's nod, he continued. "I want you to stand guard out here, and make sure none of those snowgies leave the castle and cause trouble. Okay?" Sven nodded again, and sat next to the gates, watching the castle.

Kristoff opened one of the large double doors at the other end of the courtyard, and stepped into the castle proper, closing the door behind him. He hadn't taken three steps before he was suddenly falling forward, hands flying out to catch himself. Propping himself up on one knee, he turned around to see what he had tripped on—and was unsurprised to find a snowgie there.

_Ridiculous little snow goblins,_ he thought. Picking the offending snow creature up, he looked around briefly, before realizing that he had no idea what to do with it.

"Guess I have to take it with me," he said aloud, and set the thing on his shoulder, for lack of a better option. His thoughts flashed back to the events of Anna's birthday, when he had done everything in his power to protect her cake from the hundreds of little baby snowmen. Out harvesting ice in the mountains, Kristoff never needed to use the kind or amount of acrobatics he'd had to that day.

_Maybe Olaf could help, if I could find him,_ he thought. _But that might cause more chaos than necessary._ The cheerful snowman had understandably gotten along well with his smaller brothers, and _had_ done his best to herd them. Kristoff wondered absently whether the snowgies had a gender; Olaf and Marshmallow were obviously male, but the snowgies appearing identical made it impossible to say what they were. _Olaf named them, so maybe he knows . . .?_

Distracted as he was, he almost didn't notice the group of snowgies up ahead. Stopping short of where they were standing in the corridor, chattering excitedly, Kristoff tried to figure out where they were. (Even over a year after first staying in the castle, he still got lost on occasion.) The snowgie that seemed to be the brains of this particular group was gesturing wildly down a side hallway, and Kristoff had a sinking feeling that he knew where it led.

"The kitchens . . ." he said softly, and dang it, the snow goblins just _had_ to overhear, didn't they! "No, no, no!" he shouted, chasing after them when they bolted toward the kitchens. _Anna can wait,_ he decided as he ran. _I know they're obnoxious, but if they wreck the kitchen, or . . . or _melt, _I'll never hear the end of it . . .!_


	4. Déjà-ACHOO!, Part 3

**A/N:** Finally, the sneezy snow queen herself makes an appearance! Snow Sisters fluff. :)

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**"Déjà-ACHOO!" (Part 3)**

Anna raced up the steps of the great staircase as fast as she was able, wishing (not for the first time) that she could slide _up_ the bannister as well as down. _Seriously, it would be so much easier . . ._ She was more concerned for her sister, though, than about the silly thought of defying gravity.

She found another group of snowgies near the third floor landing, chattering in whatever it was passed for a language among them. _It doesn't sound much like Norwegian or German,_ Anna thought, _or even French or English._ She could have been wrong, but she thought she caught the word "kitchen" in their talk at one point.

"Come along, now," she said, scooping them up in her arms. "Let's go find your mama, okay?" Now carrying half a dozen of the little snowmen, Anna was starting to wish she'd put on a cloak. The chill was tolerable now, but if she had to carry too many more of the things, it might get uncomfortable.

Anna strode straight to Elsa's bedroom door and knocked, in her usual five-beat knock. She waited a moment, then called out, "Elsa?"

Finally, she heard a slightly hoarse, sleepy voice mumble, "Not now, Anna . . . I'm . . . busy . . ."

The words stung a bit, reminding Anna too much of all the times she had heard _"Go away, Anna"_ at this very door. Shaking off the bad memories, she bent down to the keyhole, and said (hopefully loud enough for Elsa to hear), "Oh, no you're not!" Grabbing the door handle, she attempted to open it, only to discover it wouldn't budge.

_"Really?!"_ she blurted in exasperation, upset that the door was locked. Fishing around in her dress, she found and pulled out her key to Elsa's room, that Elsa herself had agreed Anna could keep for situations like this. Turning the key in the door, she again tried to open it, but it still held fast. _Oh. Not locked. __**Iced**__._ Gritting her teeth, Anna gave a great shove, and managed to break the layer of ice that had (unintentionally, she hoped!) accumulated over the inside of the door.

Anna had been expecting there to be some snowgies in Elsa's room, and she wasn't disappointed. There were at least a dozen, up until now exploring the room they were being kept in. Quickly shutting the door behind her, so that none of the silly snow critters could escape, Anna took in the scene: mostly pristine bedroom, sunlight peeking through partly-drawn curtains, snowgies looking at her with a puzzled expression, and her sister slumped over at her desk, snoring softly.

"Oh, Elsa," Anna chided, as the snowgies she was carrying jumped down to join their fellows. Elsa looking exhausted, and as disheveled as Anna had ever seen her, loosely-braided blonde hair in wild disarray, as unkempt as the bedroom was neat. The desk itself wasn't much better—important-looking papers were in untidy piles (this alone was un-Elsa-like enough to worry her), and several handkerchiefs lay on the desk near Elsa's head, rumpled from use.

Walking over to the bed, Anna briefly admired the deep blue canopy over it, before turning down the covers and fluffing the pillows. Returning to where Elsa lay dozing at the desk, she pulled the chair out slowly, catching her sister so she didn't topple out of it, and lifted her out of the chair. Anna was stronger than many other young women her age, and despite being the elder sister, Elsa wasn't too heavy for her to handle. (Lifting ice blocks was another matter; on the harvesting trips she'd been on with Kristoff, she tried to help out with them, but she struggled.)

"'nna . . . wait . . . have to finish . . ." Elsa mumbled into Anna's shoulder. Even with both arms under her, if she decided to squirm, Anna might be in trouble.

"No way, silly," Anna replied softly. "You've _clearly_ worked too much for your own good already. You need to _rest_ when you're sick." Laying Elsa gently in the bed, she pulled the covers over her and propped her up on the pillows.

"Now, you stay right there and rest," Anna told her, in as stern a voice as she could bear to use. _She is my sister, after all,_ Anna thought, _and the Queen; it's not her fault she's sick. Mostly._ Walking to the door, she made sure no snowgies were going to attempt to make a run for it, and said to Elsa, "I'm going down to the kitchens to get you some nice, hot soup. Maybe I can find some of that cold medicine, too . . ."

She stepped out into the hall and, peeking back in as she shut the bedroom door, saw Elsa smile back at her tiredly, before sneezing and releasing another handful of snowgies. Anna made a beeline for the spiral staircase, determined to get that soup and stuff back to Elsa as soon as possible. _I wonder if Kristoff got my message . . .?_ she wondered.


	5. Déjà-ACHOO!, Part 4

**A/N:** Kitchen shenanigans and hints of Kristanna. :)

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**"Déjà-ACHOO!" (Part 4)**

Kristoff entered the kitchens at full run, more concerned about keeping Elsa's ridiculous snow babies out of trouble than potentially startling any of the kitchen staff. Skidding to a halt, he glanced around for the snowgies.

As it turned out, the little snowmen hadn't caused much trouble yet—at the moment, they were busying themselves attempting to get in one of the cupboards. _Maybe they're looking for sweets?_ Kristoff thought. He knew that there were some things of that sort stored somewhere around here, but he didn't know exactly where. _If they're anything like their mother, they probably have a thing for chocolate . . ._

All of this commotion, however slight, would surely be noticed, so Kristoff wasn't all that surprised when the Mistress of the Kitchens, Nora, entered at her usual brisk pace.

"Master Bjorgman!" she said, sounding surprised at finding him in her kitchen. "What are you—oh!" She let out a squeak of surprise upon noticing the little snowy intruders. "Why are there little snowmen in my kitchen, Ice Master?"

Kristoff flinched at her tone, but said calmly, "Do you remember when the Queen was sick, on Princess Anna's birthday, and she sneezed up an army of these things?" Nora nodded. "Well, apparently she is sick again; Princess Anna sent for me, but before I could find her, I saw these guys headed in here, and decided I should keep them out of trouble. I hope I haven't done anything wrong, Mistress?"

Nora shook her head, her expression softening. "No, Master Bjorgman, you did the right thing. I apologize for snapping at you; if the princess trusts you, then there's no reason why I shouldn't." She chuckled, something Kristoff rarely heard from the woman. "I trust you in here more than I do her or her sister, anyway. They would likely be doing the same thing these little snow babies are doing—rifling through the cupboards for sweets." She frowned, watching the snowgies move to another cupboard. "That is what they're doing, isn't it?"

"I guess so, yeah," he answered. "Though, shouldn't we be doing something to stop them . . .?"

"Maybe," Nora replied, "but I really should be making some soup for Queen Elsa. I'm sure you can handle it." She grabbed a kettle and set about starting a fire and gathering ingredients.

"Right . . ." Kristoff trailed off, thinking about what he'd done before. _I guess I could use that punch bowl, if I can find it . . ._

_"Mistress Nora!"_ Kristoff and Nora both jumped at the sudden outburst, and Kristoff smiled at the blur of green dress and copper-colored hair that burst into the room. "Nora, Elsa's sick again! I need soup, lots of soup, and I want to know if there's any of Oaken's cold medicine left?" Anna said in a rush.

"I just started a kettle, dear," the older woman replied. "Your young man was kind enough to fill me in on the situation."

At this, Anna finally seemed to notice Kristoff was standing there. "Oh . . . uh, hi!" she said, tackling him with a fierce hug. "I'm glad you got my message," she said breathlessly, into his shirt. Pulling back, she glanced around the kitchen, and spotted the scavenging snowgies. "Annnnd I see you've been busy . . ."

"I was going to come find you, feisty pants," Kristoff said, "but these guys looked like they were going to make trouble, so I followed them."

"Oh, good. Good idea," Anna said, watching the snowgies. "Uh . . . what are they doing, exactly?"

"We guessed they were looking for sweets," he answered. "Not unlike a certain redheaded princess . . ." Anna gave him an elbow in the ribs, making him wheeze a little. _Good grief, she's strong . . ._

"Smart aleck," Anna teased. "Besides, everyone knows that most of the sweets are—"

"Anna, _no!"_ Kristoff shouted.

"—kept in the storage room through that door," Anna finished, looking puzzled at his reaction. "What? It's not like they can understand us. They speak, like, _Greek,_ or _Russian,_ or something—" She cut off when the snowgies immediately ceased their rummaging, and made a beeline for the door she had just mentioned, jumping one on top of the other to reach the door handle. "No, no, no, no, wait!" Anna shouted, scrambling to stop them from opening the door.

"I tried to warn you, Anna," Kristoff said. "Those little snowmen are more like you and your sister than you think."

"Snowgies," he heard her mutter, as she tossed the things one by one away from the door. Kristoff, meanwhile, found the bowl he was looking for (the large punch bowl, which he was grateful was empty), and quickly began scooping the snowgies Anna threw into it. "How long . . . before . . . the soup . . . is ready?" Anna panted between tosses.

"A few minutes, dear," Mistress Nora replied, calmly stirring the kettle of soup, humming a cheery tune as if nothing was wrong.

Kristoff, for the second time this year, had a bowl full of snowgies in his arms. He goggled at the number of little eyes looking up at him. _Weren't there fewer of these when I came in?_ he thought. _Oh well, it doesn't matter . . . we have to get them away from the kitchens!_

"Okay, so . . . now what?" he asked the princess.

"Now what? Umm . . ." Anna paused, as if trying to remember. "Oh! Cold medicine! Then soup. And then we get the snowgies out of here." She smiled at him fondly, and he felt his face heating.

"Medicine's in the third cupboard on the left, Your Highness," Nora said, without looking up from her kettle.

"Thanks!" Anna said, going to the cupboard in question and pulling the half-empty bottle of medicine, simply marked "COLD", out.

"Why is that kept here in the kitchen, anyway?" Kristoff wanted to know.

"Beats me," the redhead replied. "Maybe it's in case Nora gets a cold, and doesn't want to leave the kitchen?"

The Mistress of the Kitchens snorted. "That could be," Nora said, barely hiding her amusement, "but I'm not going to reveal _all_ of my secrets."

Anna frowned, then went bug-eyed, gasping, "Wait . . . Nora, you're not spiking the Queen's _chocolate_, are you?"

"Why, Princess Anna, of course not," Nora said, looking innocent. "Not that it hasn't crossed my mind—that girl needs to loosen up." Dipping a spoon into the kettle, she tasted the soup. "Soup's done," she said, pouring some into a bowl. "Better get it to her quickly, before it's cold."

"Thanks, Nora, you're the best!" Anna replied, accepting the bowl from her. Grabbing the bottle of cold medicine, she gestured for Kristoff to follow. "C'mon, Kristoff!" she said, darting out of the kitchens.

"So, what are we going to do with these?" Kristoff asked, referring to his bowlful of live snowballs.

"I figured we'd take them to join their friends in Elsa's room," Anna answered, "and decide what to do with them later." Starting up the spiral staircase, she grimaced, and added, "Elsa had better still be in bed, or I just might throw one at her."

_Knowing Elsa,_ Kristoff thought, hurrying after her, _that would be a welcome surprise._


	6. Déjà-ACHOO!, Part 5 & Epilogue

**A/N:** Here are the final two POVs for this story. It got rather long, and there really isn't a good place to break it up, so . . . Snow Sisters fluff and silliness, and some Kristanna.

* * *

**"Déjà-ACHOO!" (Part 5 &amp; Epilogue)**

The first things Anna noticed upon returning to Elsa's bedroom were: a) the door was not iced shut, which was good; and b) there were over two dozen snowgies trying to get out, which was _not_ good, as she had no free hands. Thinking fast, she dropped to her knees and managed to block the doorway; the snowgies couldn't escape by jumping over her, since Kristoff stood directly behind with his bowl (which, while full, could still be used to block).

Anna all but crawled into the room, holding the steaming bowl of soup in one hand, and holding the medicine and keeping her balance with the other. She made it far enough into the room that Kristoff could enter with his own bundle—and then she noticed the other thing different about the room: the bed was vacant.

"Elsaaaaaa . . ." Anna groaned aloud. She glanced at Kristoff, who shrugged and closed the door behind him, bowl of snowgies still in hand.

"Need to . . . finish . . . papers," came the predictable mumble from the corner of the room, where a familiar figure with pale blonde hair, now in a modest blue nightgown, was attempting to write at the desk.

Anna rolled her eyes to the ceiling, heaving an exasperated sigh at her sister's stubbornness. Walking over to the small table by the bed, she set the bottle of medicine and the bowl of soup down, then returned to Kristoff, holding out her hand. Not immediately understanding, he simply stared at her until she beckoned him to hand her something.

"Oh!" he said, pulling a snowgie from the bowl. Before handing it to her, he hesitated. "You aren't really going to throw it at her, are you?" he whispered.

Anna shook her head, and took the proffered snow goon, leaving Kristoff standing there with his bowl, looking baffled. She walked over to the desk, noting that Elsa had in fact tried to organize the mess on the desk while she was gone, with some success.

"Anna?" Elsa murmured again as she approached. "Did you . . . bring any chocol—_AIIIIEE!"_ Her scream of surprise would have alarmed most of the castle staff, had it not been followed immediately by a furious, _"ANNA!"_

The princess stood and smirked, watching as her sister leaped out of her chair, frantically tried to dislodge the snowgie wriggling around in the back of her nightgown. "Why, Elsa," Anna teased, "I thought the cold never bothered you?"

_"The cold—doesn't—WIGGLE!"_ Elsa yelled, now sounding much more lucid than a moment ago. Her frisking finally chased out the little snowman, who had a silly grin on its face. "Anna, you've got some nerve—" she began hotly, arms crossed.

"Elsa, you won't get better unless you _rest,"_ Anna said firmly, cutting her off. "Remember what happened last time? You got so delirious that you nearly fell off the clock tower! Not to mention you made the Southern Isles pretty nervous . . ." She glanced at the partly-neatened desk. "Anyway, you can't rest at your desk. There's no reason why me or Kai couldn't finish your paperwork. Unless it needs a signature . . . no, wait, I can do that, too . . ."

Elsa's expression went from angry, to abashed, to grateful. "I suppose," she said, the weariness creeping into her voice again, "but . . ."

"No buts." Anna hoped she didn't sound _too_ stern. "Now, back to bed, or I'll see if I can teach some of these snowgies to find out where you're _ticklish!"_

Her sister looked horrified. "You wouldn't dare," she said hoarsely. Anna gave her a flat look. "Oh, all right," Elsa sighed, defeated. "But I'll . . . get you back. For sticking . . . _live snow_ down my dress."

"I'm sure you'll try," Anna replied, "but not today. Come on, I got you hot soup." Elsa shuffled over to the bed, shedding her slippers and crawling in. Anna followed, and helped her sister get situated sitting up in bed. "You have to admit, Elsa," she continued, "that it was pretty good payback for all that snow I had to endure before yesterday's meeting."

"That was all . . . in good fun, Anna," Elsa replied, sniffling a bit, before making a icy handkerchief appear and wiping her reddened nose.

"Sure, sure," Anna said, smiling. "You know I could never stay mad at you, Elsa." She spooned some soup, blowing on it slightly, and presented it to Elsa, making a little _whooshing_ noise under her breath.

Apparently, she hadn't been quiet enough; Elsa flicked a hand, and the spoon and its contents froze instantly. "I'm not a child, Anna," her sister said, a serious-looking smirk on her face. "Keep making . . . noises with the spoon, and I will . . . bury this room in snow."

Anna made a pouty face as Elsa flicked her hand again, dispelling the ice (but not the cold) from the soup spoon. "Love you too, stinker," she said affectionately. Elsa smirked again, but did not retaliate, content to sit there and eat the soup, one chilled spoonful at a time.

When the bowl of soup was finally empty, Anna set it on the table, then took the bottle of cold medicine and poured a spoonful. "This will make you feel better," she said. Elsa made a sour face, but accepted the dose anyway.

"Um, Anna, Elsa?" Kristoff, still standing with his bowl of snowgies near the door, was fidgeting, probably uncomfortable being in the Queen's bedroom for so long. "What are we going to do about the snowgies?" he asked.

"Hm . . .?" In her focus on taking care of her stubborn sister, Anna had forgotten that he was there. "Oh! Sorry, Kristoff. I guess you could take them up to the North Mountain again . . . Unless Elsa has a better idea?" she asked, turning back to her sister, who shook her head. "You know, you may need to build a new wing in the Ice Palace for all these guys . . ."

"But where would she put it?" Kristoff asked, looking around the room, as if searching for something. "Below the foundation, into the mountain?"

"Don't be . . . silly, Kristoff," Elsa said, a small giggle escaping her lips. "There's . . . plenty of room."

"All right, if you say so . . ." Kristoff turned and looked imploringly at Anna. "Um . . . I don't suppose either of you have something I can carry all of these snowgies with?"

"Try asking Kai," Anna suggested. "I think he has some big sacks somewhere."

"All right." Kristoff emptied the large bowl of its contents, and quickly slipped out the bedroom door with it tucked under one arm.

"Annaaaaaa," Elsa said, her words starting to sound slurred. "C'n we have some choooocolate now?"

Anna rolled her eyes once again, and replied, "Not until you're _better,_ Elsa." She frowned, remembering that her sister had mentioned chocolate when they first came in. Then there was the snowgies' behavior . . . "Wait, wait, wait," she said, looking Elsa right in the eyes. "You're not actually _telling_ the snowgies to fetch sweets, are you . . .?"

Elsa giggled again. "Tried," she murmured, "but they're . . . not very bright. You . . . helped, though. Storage room."

Anna slapped her forehead with the palm of her hand. She should have known; the little snowmen _were_ just like her and Elsa, as Kristoff had said. "Fine, I'll tell Nora to lock it until you're well." Elsa pouted, and she added, "Mama always told me that sweets aren't good for you when you're sick."

"No chocolate . . .?" Elsa whimpered.

"I promise I'll let you have all the chocolate you like when you're all better," Anna replied. "We can even share a pot of hot chocolate, just the two of us." Elsa's expression brightened at this prospect. Anna glanced around the room, taking in the four dozen or so snowgies sitting or lounging on every conceivable surface. "Elsa, there aren't any other snowgies for us to worry about, are there?"

"Think . . . Olaf found some." Elsa mumbled, eyes half-closed. "'S probably . . . all of them . . ."

"All right." Anna helped her sister into a more comfortable position for sleeping, and snugged the covers around her. "Just rest now, okay?" Elsa did not answer; she had already fallen asleep. Anna finally relaxed, and stood, thinking that maybe she should see what paperwork she could do before Elsa woke up again.

Kristoff returned then, a large cloth sack thrown over one shoulder, and shut the door quickly behind him. "I found a sack—" he began.

"Sshhhh!" Anna hissed, one finger to her lips and the other hand pointing at the bed. "I _just_ got her to sleep," she whispered. "Try not to make too much noise."

"I'll do my best," he answered quietly, "but that really depends on the snowgies."

It didn't take long to gather up the snowgies—they didn't put up a fight, possibly because Elsa was asleep. When Kristoff was done, and had the sack of snowgies slung over his shoulder, Anna told him to be on the lookout for the group that Elsa thought Olaf had found. She walked up to him, and gave him a warm smile. "Thanks for helping," she said, then stood on tiptoe and gave him a quick kiss. "Safe travels," she whispered.

"No problem, feisty pants," Kristoff replied breathlessly, his face reddened. He smiled back at Anna, then turned and left. Anna strode over to the desk, and set about tidying it, hoping Elsa would be well soon.

* * *

Kristoff tried to look nonchalant as he made his way out of the castle with a sack of slightly squirming snow goofs over his shoulder. The sack had certainly come in handy—Kai had been very accommodating, as if he had expected the need for it. When he stepped outside into the courtyard, though, he was met with a rather unusual sight. _What the . . .?_

The cart was exactly where he left it, but there was now a handful of snowgies sitting in the back. Kristoff watched as Sven lobbed (with his antlers) a snowgie toward Olaf. The snowman then swung the long stick he held like a bat, hitting the snowgie and sending it flying into the back of the cart.

"Enjoying yourselves?" he asked them, swinging the sack up into the cart. "Sorry if I'm interrupting your game . . ." Walking up to Sven, he stage-whispered, "Who won?" The answer, of course, in Sven-speak was, _I did!_ "That's not what it looked like to me, buddy." he told the reindeer. Sven grunted in reply.

"That's okay, Kristoff!" Olaf said cheerfully. "I was running out of little brothers to launch, anyway."

"I'm glad you showed up, actually," Kristoff replied, hitching up Sven. "Would you like to join us for a trip up the North Mountain?" He jumped onto the seat, taking the reins.

"Sure!" Olaf ushered the remaining snowgies into the cart, then climbed onto the seat next to Kristoff, eager to go. "Oh, your bag seems to have come open . . ." he added.

Kristoff glanced at the back of the cart, and saw five dozen pairs of eyes blinking at him. _Figures . . ._ He had only loosely tied the bag, after all. "All right, let's go, Sven," he said. With that, they set off on the long trek up into the mountains. Thinking fondly of Anna, Kristoff hoped it wouldn't take _too_ long.

**THE END**

* * *

_**A/N:**__ I hope you all enjoyed this silly story! Can't believe I started it 5½ months ago, about 2 months after _Frozen Fever _came out. Please review, and let me know what you think! :D_

– _Elsa may be immune to the cold, but when she's sick . . . well, she can be surprised._

– _The Snow Sisters "noises with the spoon" thing was originally an outtake on Tumblr from ultranos's _"ghost on the wire" _fic._

– _I felt that I needed to include Olaf somehow, and the "improvised stick-ball game" idea I had was too funny to pass up. ;)_


	7. Yuletide

**A/N:** Here is my entry for Elsa Week 2015. This covers two of the prompts: "**You've never had a real birthday before...**" and "**Fit for a Queen (Jacket Day!)**". Merry Christmas to everyone who celebrates, and Happy New Year to all. :) Read on for Snow Sisters fluff!

Edited 12/25 for clarity.

* * *

**"Yuletide"**

The Yule season had arrived, and on this bitter cold December morning, Princess Anna of Arendelle sat in her room plotting. Ordinarily, the strawberry-blonde would spend such a morning tucked in her warm bed, waiting for the castle to warm to her liking (which was really just an excuse to not get up).

Or at least she would have, before the events of Elsa's coronation over five months ago. Since then, her sister had, in some of her free time, been teaching her various things that she could do to assist Elsa with matters of state—paperwork, politics, etiquette, languages, and all of the other things that Anna had not learned enough of in the last three years. She didn't enjoy it a great deal, but kept at it, knowing that if she helped Elsa run the kingdom, there would be more time for fun activities.

It was just such a fun activity that Anna was planning now. For thirteen long years, the winter solstice—Elsa's birthday—had seen the younger princess leave the older a present at her door, without ever seeing the look on her face when she opened it. Anna had so seldom seen her sister, even in passing, or a glimpse in the hallways, that she had begun to wonder what Elsa would even want for her birthday. And with said event so close to Yule Day, it was tough to decide what to give her.

Oh, there were simple things she could give, like chocolate, but Anna already shared plenty of that with her sister, in the hope that it might entice Elsa to open her door. For her birthday, then, Anna wanted to give Elsa something more special, meaningful—a card, for instance, or a colorful drawing, or both. (She left chocolate, too, and was fairly certain that her sister ate it.) As they got older, Anna found fancier things to give Elsa, but the only way she would know if her sister liked the gifts was if she asked at her door, or slip her a note under the door, and hope for an answer. (She seldom got one.)

But this year would be different. This year, Elsa was finally out of her room, and thus Anna had gotten to know her better. Unfortunately, the princess was still low on ideas, which was why she was awake and brainstorming.

_Anything made of ice or snow is out,_ she thought. _It's too obvious, and Elsa can make whatever she wants out of the stuff anyway. Chocolate is a given, but there'll be plenty of that at the party. I could draw her something, I guess . . . no, wait! A dress! No, that wouldn't work, either . . . would it?_

Elsa did still wear normal, actual-fabric dresses, both for everyday use and formal occasions, but if she was in a hurry in the morning (which was often), she would just conjure up an ice dress and move on with her day. In the last five months, she had gotten better at making them, to the point where she could make them in any style or shade of blue that she wished.

_I guess the only way to find out what to get her is to see what she has,_ Anna thought. Getting into Elsa's room wouldn't be a problem—even if it was locked, Anna always kept a key with her, just so she could open it and give her sister an earful for locking it in the first place—_no more closed doors, darn it!_ No, the tricky part would be getting into her room while she wasn't there. Which, given how busy she usually was, was actually fairly often. She just had to do it without looking suspicious.

She crept out of her room, looking both ways to make sure no one was coming. It wasn't like her sneaking around the castle was unusual—far from it—but if the castle staff saw her, they might tell Elsa, and make her suspicious, which would ruin everything. (It would be useless to try convincing Elsa that Anna wasn't snooping around her room to see what she had gotten Anna for Yule, because Elsa probably wouldn't believe her.)

Satisfied that the hallway was empty, Anna tiptoed all the way to Elsa's bedroom door. Testing the handle, she was pleased to find that it was unlocked. She slipped inside and shut the door quietly behind her. Glancing around the obsessively tidy room, Anna decided that it was now or never, and walked over to where the wardrobes stood.

She opened the nearest wardrobe, and peeked inside. Anna had gotten a good look at some of Elsa's clothes the evening after the Thaw (and had even convinced her to wear some of them), but she had only looked in one wardrobe—this one was unfamiliar to her. It also looked like it hadn't been dug through in quite a while. Some of it was formal wear, but one piece in particular caught her attention.

Pulling it out, she stood there and stared at the deep blue jacket and matching dress like she had seen a ghost. It was just the sort of thing she remembered her mother liked to wear around the castle. With a start, she realized that she had also seen Elsa wearing something like this on occasion, during their long isolation. But, as few times as she had seen her after their parents' loss, she couldn't recall her wearing it since then—always something formal for the uncrowned queen.

_Hmm,_ Anna mused. _Maybe she'd like another one? It seems to be the only one she has._ Where most of Elsa's wardrobes consisted of multiple pairs of identical outfits (_In case she spills ink on one, I guess . . _), this outfit seemed to be one-of-a-kind. _Maybe something in a lighter blue, closer to ice dress color . . ._

* * *

Anna commissioned her favorite seamstress, Ingrid, to make a jacket and dress on short notice (anything for the very active Princess of Arendelle, who needed dresses mended so often that it wasn't long before the two women were on a first-name basis). The winter solstice crept up faster than she expected, but she still made it a birthday for Elsa to remember.

They had a small celebration in the courtyard, to start—there was cake, krumkake, and all manner of chocolate sweets to please the Queen's taste. The children of Arendelle were invited to bring their well wishes, sing her a Yule carol or two, and (of course) beg her to "do the magic".

For gift-giving, they moved inside to the throne room. There weren't many gifts for Elsa—what, besides chocolate, do you give a queen who has everything, as well as magic?—but Elsa insisted that the people of Arendelle giving her birthday wishes was gift enough. Kristoff surprised the Queen with a cute ice sculpture that Anna thought was either a mountain or a castle—she wasn't sure, but silently applauded him for trying. Finally, it was Anna's turn to present her sister with her long, flat package.

"What's this, Anna?" Elsa asked, accepting the gift, eyeing it with no small amount of amusement on her face. "A dress?"

Anna gave her a look that she hoped conveyed her irritation well enough. "Well, Elsa, it's been so long since you've had a real birthday, and I didn't know what to give you. So I went into your room—"

"You _what?"_ Elsa blurted.

"Yell at me later," Anna said quickly. "Anyway, so I was looking through your dresses, thinking I could get you something you didn't have . . . and I found your jacket."

"Jacket?" the blonde echoed, then paled. "Oh. That."

Anna immediately went to her sister's side, kneeling next to the throne. "Elsa," she said gently, "I understand why you don't wear it—I understood the moment I saw it. But I thought I could give you something similar, only, well . . . more _you._ New you."

"Anna, that's . . ." Elsa trailed off, then took a deep breath. "Thank you, Anna."

"Well, open it!" Anna said.

Elsa daintily removed the wrapping, and pulled out a icy-blue garment, almost the same shade as the ice dress she was wearing, but in the same cut as the jacket she once wore. Underneath the jacket was a matching dress; both jacket and skirts were trimmed in a deeper blue, with what appeared to be miniature snowflakes dotting the trim.

"Anna, it's beautiful," Elsa breathed. Then, to Anna's surprise, she pulled Anna into a hug. "Thank you," she said again. "For understanding."

When they broke apart, the assembled townspeople applauded. Under cover of the applause, Elsa asked her, "Ingrid?"

Anna started, surprised. "Yeah, how did you know?"

"Who else could have made something like this on short notice, with such attention to detail?" Elsa replied, grinning.

"It's truly fit for a queen," Anna said. "And now you need to _wear it,_ or I'll tell her you couldn't be bothered."

"All right, Anna, if you insist," Elsa said. She stood, jacket and dress in hand, and walked off, clearly headed to change. Anna watched her go, and so was facing Elsa when she too-casually flicked her free hand over her shoulder.

"COLD!" Anna shrieked, wiping the snow from her face.

"That's for sneaking into my room," her sister called back, a note of triumph in her voice.

* * *

_**A/N:** I started writing this story in early February, less than a week after writing and posting "Moonlight" (the first chapter in this collection). It was only when this fall and the Anna/Elsa weeks rolled around that I decided it would be more interesting if I wrote it for Elsa Week, and incorporated some of the prompt ideas._

– _I used the terms "Yule", etc., because a) it's set in Norway, and b) it's the Disney-verse, and I didn't wish to make any religious implications for Arendelle (or make them incorrectly)._

– _I basically pulled the name "Ingrid" out of a hat. It's a nice Norse name._


	8. The Castle Sneak

**A/N:** This fic is rather silly overall, and the length of it sort of got away from me, but it has a little of everything Snow Sisters in it—hurt, comfort, and fluff. :)

* * *

**"The Castle Sneak"**

In the short time since they had been reunited, Princess Anna of Arendelle still didn't know her sister very well. However, if there was one thing she had learned, it was that Elsa took her work as monarch _very_ seriously, to the point where she appeared to tune everything else out, including Anna.

She really wasn't sure how how to feel about this situation. On the one hand, it felt a lot like when Elsa had shut her out for thirteen years, with the only difference being that all doors were open to her—she could lounge on the couch in the study while her sister was busy working, if she wished, or flop on Elsa's bed if she took work to her room. But Elsa was often too focused on writing letters or signing trade agreements to chat with Anna when she was in the room.

On the other hand, having Elsa being engrossed in work might not be such a bad thing, and could even be used to her advantage. Her mother and father had often scolded Anna for crashing her and Elsa's bike while riding it around the halls, or for trying at least once a week to sneak chocolate from the kitchens. They weren't too hard on her, though, perhaps understanding that without her sister, her options for entertainment were limited. But maybe Elsa wouldn't notice if she snuck sweets from the kitchens, like old times, or, say, ran off and spent the day with Kristoff.

Anna paused in the act of taming her hair to glance at her blushing reflection in the mirror. _There's always a chance that Gerda or Kai or somebody could rat on me to Elsa,_ she thought. She really wasn't sure if her sister approved her having a relationship with a common-born mountain man, after being scolded for kissing him in public. Though Elsa enthusiastically approved her mingling with the people of Arendelle Town—something she'd been denied for thirteen years—going to visit the Ice Master without telling anyone would probably just earn her another scolding. Which left sneaking sweets. She glanced at the clock, and quickly finished braiding her hair. She had missed having breakfast with Elsa—not that her sister had been coming down for it, during the last week or so—but there might be something sweet left over in the kitchens.

As she headed downstairs, she wondered whether Mistress Nora would still be in there cooking at this hour. Even after reconciling with her sister, Anna still got in trouble occasionally, for little things; the worst punishment she had seen was after the ice cube incident, when she had gotten what must have been an entire snowdrift dropped on her. She was pretty sure that Elsa regretted doing that almost right away; she still had some lingering fear of hurting Anna. That bitter-cold memory nearly made her change her mind, go and do the normal, well-behaved princess thing and ask for a sandwich.

She was still debating what to do as she neared the kitchens, but she stopped short of the door when she heard voices inside. Putting an ear to the wall, she listened.

"Gerda, dear," Mistress Nora was saying, "could you take this plate to the Queen, please?"

"Certainly, at once," the older woman replied. "Did you just bake these, Nora?"

"Indeed I did," Nora answered. "I saved one for myself—cook's privilege—but the rest are for her." The head of the kitchens lowered her voice conspiratorially, so that Anna had to strain her ears to hear her speak. "If that young woman doesn't take a break from her never ending work soon, I may just add a little something to them next time."

"She does need to loosen up, yes," Gerda said. "I'll talk to Princess Anna about it, the next time I see her." A pause, and then, nearer to the door, "Did you save something sweet for the princess? I have a feeling she'll be down late again." Anna leaped out of the way, and out of sight, when Gerda opened the door to the kitchens.

"Yes, I saved some sweet buns," Nora called. "I could try to convince her to get up earlier, but let's work on one girl at a time. My idea for her sister is still on the table."

"Another time, perhaps," Gerda said, and closed the door behind her, heading for the great staircase.

Anna waited until Gerda was out of sight before going into the kitchen. There was no point in trying to sneak in today; Nora was still in there, and probably would be for some time. More importantly, though, she wanted to know what that little conversation with Gerda was about.

"Oh, it's you, Anna dear!" Nora said brightly, when she entered. You just missed Gerda and a plate of cookies, but I did save some sweet buns for you."

"Thanks, Nora," she said, grabbing a bun off the counter and taking a bite. "What kind of cookies?"

"Oh, just chocolate chip," the cook replied, "If you go and see your sister, maybe she'll share with you?" She cleared her throat, and added, "To be honest, Your Highness, I'm a little worried about her. She hasn't been down from her room in quite a while."

"I know. I've tried talking to her, but she's too busy working to pay attention." Anna sighed. "I'd love to . . . _loosen her up . . ._ but I don't think it's time to spike her chocolate _just_ yet."

Mistress Nora paled. "Princess Anna . . . I-I had no idea you were—"

"Relax, Nora, I'm not going to throw you in the dungeons or anything. I think it's a _great_ idea, for when we get desperate. We'll call it Plan B, to use if what I have in mind doesn't work."

"What _do_ you have in mind?" Nora said, amused. "Not ice cubes?"

"No, no, no, no. I got a whole lot more in return after that prank than I counted on . . ." Anna scrubbed at her head absently. "I feel like I'm _still_ finding bits of magic snow in my hair. Anyway, if she still doesn't bother to talk to me when I go back up there, or offer to share those cookies, then I'm going to help myself."

"That might not go well,"

"It will if I'm _sneaky."_ Walking toward the door, Anna turned and added, "At least I'll find out whether she's actually paying attention. Later, Nora!"

"Good luck, dear," she heard the cook call after her.

Anna dashed up the stairs, taking them two at a time. She was in such a hurry that she nearly ran into Gerda, who had come out of Elsa's study carrying a tea tray. She managed to slow down enough to merely bump into the other woman, miraculously not upsetting the tray.

"Gerda, I'm so sorry, I didn't see you coming!" Anna said. She silently praised Gerda's many years of experience—not a drop of tea had spilled on either of them.

"It's all right, Your Highness," the maid replied. "Were you going to visit your sister? I just brought her a plate of cookies." She sighed. "I'm worried about her. She hasn't left that desk in what seems like days. Your Highness, do you think you could—"

"Don't worry, Gerda—I have a plan." Anna winked, and Gerda smiled.

"Well, then, good luck, Your Highness." Adjusting her tray, Gerda dipped in a brief curtsy, and continued on her way back to the kitchens.

Anna tread as quietly as she could all the way to the study door. In thirteen years of thinking up activities to ease her boredom, she had mastered the art of turning the doorknobs in the castle _just_ enough so that they opened without making a sound. Ignoring the voice in her head telling her that sneaking up on her sister was a _terrible_ idea, ice cubes or no ice cubes, Anna crept inside.

Elsa was right where Anna had last seen her, and where she had been for days and days, now—at the desk, mulling over piles of paperwork. Next to the papers, undisturbed save for a bite taken out of one cookie, was the plate Nora and Gerda had spoken of. Elsa gave no indication that she had noticed Anna come in, and that was enough to convince her to carry out her plan.

Anna got down on her hands and knees and crawled toward the desk, occasionally pausing to see if her sister had noticed her. When she got to the desk, she propped up on her knees and peeked over the edge. Elsa had apparently finished a document, and reached for the next one in the stack, still taking no notice of Anna's presence. When she was sure that Elsa was focused on the document in front of her, she inched up, and reached for a cookie from the plate.

No sooner had she touched the nearest cookie that her entire forearm was frozen to the desktop, her hand wiggling uselessly. Defeated, Anna looked up to see a pair of icy-blue eyes staring back at her, crinkled with amusement.

"I suppose you thought that I didn't see you?" Elsa asked her. "There _is_ a reason why the desk faces the door, Anna."

"But, but . . . you . . ." Anna struggled for words, and suddenly felt angry. "You _still_ acted like I wasn't here!"

"Is that what this is about?" Elsa said, her amused expression fading, replaced with one of concern. Setting the plate of cookies aside, she waved her other hand, thawing the ice around Anna's arm. "Anna, you know that I have a responsibility as Queen to deal with affairs of state—"

"Yes, but that's all that you've been doing for weeks!" Anna exploded, leaping to her feet, slapping both hands on the desk. "You've left this room maybe _twice_ in the last week, taking your meals in here and barely touching them. You have me and Nora, and Gerda, and Kai, and everyone else worried about your health. And even when I'm in here trying to keep you company, you act like I'm not even here! You won't even _talk_ to me!"

Elsa sat back in her chair, clearly surprised by the outburst. Anna saw the tears welling up in her sister's eyes, and the sudden chill in the air, and wondered if she had said too much. Her anger faded immediately, and with three steps was on the other side of the desk, on her knees and hugging her sister tightly. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I didn't mean it . . ." she cried, sobbing into Elsa's dress.

"No, Anna, I'm the one who should be apologizing," Elsa's voice shook. "You think that I've b-been . . . shutting you out again?" When Anna mumbled a "yes" into her skirts, she continued. "Anna, I'm so _sorry,_ I never meant to act like that. I've been so busy, trying to dig out of the pile of paperwork that never seems to get smaller. I didn't mean to ignore you." Pulling Anna up into a proper hug, she said, "Will you forgive me?"

"Of course I will," Anna said, sniffling. "You're my sister. I could never stay mad at you."

"I'm glad to hear it. And Anna," she added, picking a cookie up off the plate, "I'm always willing to share."

Anna smiled, accepting the proffered cookie. "Thanks, Elsa." She perched on the edge of the desk, and bit into the cookie, chewing slowly, savoring the sweet taste of the chocolate chips.

"How about this," Elsa said, her composure returned. "Why don't I finish this document, and then we can do something fun?"

"That sounds wonderful," Anna agreed. "How about tag?"

Elsa raised an eyebrow. "You're challenging _me,_ the Queen of ice and snow, to _tag?"_

"Sure, why not? We could make it fair . . ." Anna thought for a moment, then said, "How about you give me a ten-second head start?"

"That sounds fair."

"You didn't finish your cookie," Anna said, gesturing to the cookie with a bite taken out of it.

As soon as Elsa picked up the cookie, Anna slapped her on the shoulder, grabbed the plate of cookies, and sprinted for the door. "Tag! You're 'it', Elsa!"

_"ANNA!"_

"Ten seconnnds!" Anna called back, a mischievous smirk on her face as she flew out the door into the hallway.

_"Anna, come back, you, you . . . _cookie thief!"

_I might regret doing it,_ she thought, hopping on the banister at full speed, _but it was worth seeing the look on her face!_


	9. A Warm Place, Part 1

**A/N:** This is my first actual attempt at Kristanna, so bear with me. It's inspired partly by the Anna Week 2015 prompt "Warm Hugs and Frozen Hearts", referring both to the overall story, and a minor plot element from _TCAtS_ that's only been hinted at so far. There will probably be only two parts, unless I get carried away. ;)

* * *

**"A Warm Place" (Part 1)**

It turned out that lifting ice out of a frozen lake really _was_ harder than it looked. Princess Anna let the block go reluctantly, wondering what had possessed her to try in the first place. It was the first harvest of the fall, and there was a _lot_ of ice.

"Look, I know you're strong, feisty pants," her companion said, taking the tongs from her, "but you don't need to hurt yourself to prove it."

"I want to do _something_ to help, Kristoff." She watched as he lifted the block she'd been trying to lift for ten minutes with little effort. "And you make it look so _easy!"_

"That's because I've been doing it since I was a kid." He set the block down, and moved to the next one. "You build up a lot of muscle doing this for a living."

Anna silently agreed. Kristoff Bjorgman was indeed a sight to behold, tall and muscled, with broad shoulders from decades of harvesting ice.

"You all right there, Anna?" he asked, pulling another block out. "You look a little red."

Anna started, and realized that she had been staring, blushing all the while. "Muscles! Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. I guess I'll go sit down, so, you know, I won't be in the way."

"All right, then." Darn him, he knew, and was _smirking_ at her! It didn't last, though; she looked back at him when she got to the sled, and Kristoff had gone right back to work lifting ice blocks.

Climbing up and settling on the seat, Anna decided that watching him was better than nothing. There wasn't much else to do, anyway; she hadn't invited Olaf on this trip, so she really didn't have anyone besides Kristoff to talk with. She could talk _to_ Sven, of course, but the reindeer wasn't much of a conversationalist.

"Do you think he likes it when I watch him?" she asked, only loud enough for Sven could hear. Up here in the mountains, with nothing but the sound of Kristoff's tools and the occasional breeze, talking softly was as tricky as being quiet in an empty castle.

Sven grunted, in such a way that Anna interpreted it as a yes. "Well, he has a funny way of showing it. You understand, though, right?" He adopted a happy expression, and nuzzled at Anna with his snout. "Okay, okay!" she laughed.

This continued for at least an hour, with Anna watching Kristoff, and the occasional half-conversation with Sven. Around midday, though, Sven suddenly perked his ears up, looking off into the distance, and brayed at Kristoff loudly.

"What's up, buddy?" Kristoff asked, setting his tongs down. He had cut and removed a significant amount of ice in these few short hours. Sven barked something urgently, motioning to something on the horizon. "Whoa, slow down, what?" he asked. He glanced in the direction the reindeer indicated, and hissed softly.

"Oh. Yeah, that's bad." He turned to Anna. "There's a snowstorm coming, and we need to leave as soon as I finish loading the ice." He sighed. "I don't know if we can get back to Arendelle before it reaches us."

"Then we'll go as far as we can," she replied. "Do you know of any shelter between here and Arendelle?"

"A few places, yeah." He hauled the last of the ice blocks into the back of the sled, and went to hitch up Sven. "Neither Oaken's or the trolls' valley are close, though."

"That's too bad," she said, watching him fiddle with Sven's harness. "I would have enjoyed seeing your family."

Kristoff climbed up onto the seat, "Well, maybe we can visit them after the storm passes. I'm sure your sister won't worry too much if we take a slight detour."

"As long as they don't try to marry us, I think she'd be okay with it." Anna blushed at the thought, and could have sworn he looked a little embarrassed as well.

"Yeah, I guess," he said, and snapped the reins gently. "C'mon, Sven."

They traveled in silence for the most part; Anna had a feeling that Kristoff still felt awkward talking to her sometimes, even after getting to know each other better over the last few months. She thought that maybe Elsa had something to do with that, giving the Ice Master boundaries for what he could do when he spent time with her. She knew that her sister meant well, but she also knew that those rules were primarily for when they were together in public. Not like now, when there was no one around for miles.

About half an hour into their journey, the wind picked up, and the temperature fell. Anna pulled her cloak tighter around her, and said, "We're not going to make it, are we?"

"Probably not," Kristoff replied, doing his best to encourage Sven to go faster. "Fortunately, we have plenty of supplies to set up shelter, even if we have to stop for the night."

"Right." She did worry a little about how Elsa would react to them being gone an entire extra day, unplanned. "At least this storm isn't magical, right?" she asked, trying her best to sound chipper.

Kristoff barked a short laugh. "Yeah." He seemed to sense her uneasiness, because he added, "You're worried about your sister, aren't you?"

Anna sighed; he knew some of her moods all too well. "Yeah."

"Don't worry, Anna," he said. "She's not going to freeze the kingdom if we're gone only one extra day. And she knows that I'll always keep you safe."

"I guess you're right. But where can we stay?" She shivered, beginning to feel the bitter chill of the oncoming storm. Snow flurries started to drift down, hastened by the wind.

"There's some caves near here, over the next ridge," Kristoff replied. "If we're lucky, they'll be unoccupied."

"What if they're not?" Anna had visions of them staying in a cave, only to be attacked by wolves while they slept.

"Then we'll do what we can," The wind was really picking up now, forcing him to raise his voice to be heard. "Besides, if we light a fire, it should keep most of the animals away."

"All right," she agreed, looking forward to the warmth of a fire. "Let's go."


	10. A Warm Place, Part 2

**A/N:** Here it is finally, the second part of my Kristanna short fic. Lack of energy and motivation, and a heap full of distraction, were the main causes of the nearly 4 month delay. Fortunately, I had the fic outlined already, so finding my muse wasn't too difficult once I got started again.

* * *

**"A Warm Place" (Part 2)**

It wasn't long before the steady stream of flurries began to make visibility very difficult. Despite this, Kristoff managed to find the cave system he had mentioned, and not a moment too soon. He glanced at Anna, who by now was visibly cold, shivering despite her warm cloak, hat, and mittens.

"We're almost there, okay?" he assured her. "I have some blankets in the back, and with a fire you'll be warm in no time."

"Mmm-hm," she murmured, sounding not too sure.

Kristoff worried when Anna was like this. Honestly, it frightened him, reminding him all too much of galloping to Arendelle with a quickly-freezing princess on his lap. He knew that she'd lived a sheltered life, and wasn't as used to being out in the cold as he was, but during the Great Freeze she'd done remarkably well. Having her heart and body completely frozen, if only for a moment, might have taken their toll on her endurance, but Anna had the determination and stamina of a wolf . . . most of the time.

_Grand Pabbie did warn her that this might happen,_ he thought. It was one of the reasons why he'd been reluctant to let Anna go along on these trips. But when she looked up at him with those big sad eyes, he just _couldn't_ say no to her.

Kristoff had briefly considered that she might just be tired from their long day, but weakness from the cold was more likely, and that meant that he needed to get her warm as soon as he could. He was rather tired himself, but he wasn't about to let that slow him down, not when Anna was in trouble.

They finally reached the mouth of the nearest cave, and he brought Sven to a halt. Jumping to the ground, he went around to help Anna. The princess was still shivering, but she managed to climb down without much help.

"I don't see this storm breaking before dark, so we'll have to stay here for the night," he said. "Go on inside, and I'll get the supplies." Anna nodded, and shuffled into the cave. Kristoff unhitched Sven, then went and lifted the large sack of supplies out of the back of the sled. In it were several wool blankets, enough food for a night or two, and some firewood.

"C'mon, buddy." Throwing the pack over one shoulder, he went inside, Sven following close behind. He walked to the middle of the cave, where Anna sat with her arms wrapped around her legs, futilely trying to warm herself.

"I can get a fire started," he told her, setting the pack down, "but you'll warm up faster if you get out of your wet clothes."

Anna looked up, eyeing him with a half-amused, half-insulted expression. "Are you s-suggesting that I _undress_ in f-front of you, Kristoff Bjorgman?" she said, teeth chattering.

"I . . . of course not!" he said quickly, face burning at the thought of her . . . undressed. "I'll have my back turned."

Anna smirked, clearly noticing his discomfort. "Whatever you s-say, Mountain Man."

He pulled a blanket out and handed it to her. "I'll . . . just be over here," he muttered. He grabbed the bag and turned away, face still red.

Trying hard to ignore the rustling behind him, he laid the firewood he brought in a neat pile, then found the tinderbox and checked its contents. Unfortunately, the few matches he kept in it appeared to have gotten damp, and he doubted they would do much good. The tinder was also a little damp, but he thought it would do.

He had just spread some tinder and pulled out the flint and steel when he heard Anna speak up behind him. "You can t-turn around now, Kristoff."

Kristoff went around to the other side of the unlit fire so he could face her and still work. She was sitting and shivering much as she had before, with her wet clothes piled next to her, and the wool blanket pulled around herself tightly.

"Th-those don't look like matches," Anna observed.

"They're not. This is flint, a special kind of stone. When you strike it on this," he said, holding up the steel ring, "it makes a spark." He then did just that, making sparks rain down and the tinder smolder. Bending over it, he blew gently, and soon had a good fire started.

He got the other blanket out, stood, and proceeded to take off his own soaked outer clothing. He could feel Anna's eyes watching him, probably wondering whether he would strip down like she had. She was going to be disappointed if that was the case. He stopped at his loose shirt and undergarments—he was already toeing the line of propriety as it was.

Wrapping the blanket around himself, he looked around the cave. "I can't exactly hang these up . . ." he muttered.

"J-just drape them on a rock or s-something. As long as th-they get dry, it's f-fine."

"Anna, are you okay? You're starting to make me worried." He patted his chest near the heart, hoping she got the message.

She nodded. "I'll b-be all right, I think. M-maybe. Well . . . you remember what Grand Pabbie s-said."

"Yeah, I do." He stood halfway, his own clothes in one hand, and bent to pick up hers with the other.

After finding some rocks to drape their things on (perhaps they were stalagmites; it was difficult to tell in the dim cave), he returned to the fire, which Anna was inching closer to. "Anna, you're getting too close."

"I'm s-still kind of c-cold."

Kristoff knew what he needed to do, and if he had to explain himself to the Queen afterwards, so be it. "Well, you can't get any closer, unless you want to be on fire. I can help warm you, though."

"How?" She must have read more into his words, though, because she flushed scarlet. "You're n-not suggesting . . .?"

"N-no!" he stammered. "I don't want to get you in trouble with your sister—"

"You would b-be in way more t-trouble than me, _Kristoffer."_

Ignoring the jab, but at the same time amused by the mischievous grin on her face, he went on. "I didn't mean we should do . . . do _that . . ._ but if I hold you, it'll still help." He scratched his head nervously. "That's what my mother told me, anyway."

"Kris-toooff, your m-mother is a _rock,"_ she said, rolling her eyes. She frowned. "W-what is it?"

"Your sister didn't say anything about, uh . . . snuggling . . . did she?"

"N-no, Kristoff, I'm s-sure Elsa won't m-mind. Besides, we're not in p-public." Anna patted the spot on the ground next to her.

"All right . . . as long as she understands." He stood, and walked over to the other side to sit with her.

With the blanket still pulled around his shoulders, he spread his knees apart so Anna could nestle up against him, like a little spoon nested in a bigger one. Not for the first time, he realized just how small she was . . . how much he loved her, and wanted to protect her.

They sat like this, her snugged against him in her blanket and his arms wrapped around her, his chin resting on her head, for what felt like hours. The only things he could hear during this period were the crackle of the fire, the sound of their breathing, and the occasional grunt from Sven. It was at this point that he realized the storm had calmed outside.

When Anna began to feel warm again, he broke the silence. "How are you feeling, feisty pants?"

"Warmer," she replied, turning around to look up at him with those big blue-green eyes of hers. Before he could say anything, she leaned up and kissed him, taking his breath away. "Thank you," she said when they parted.

"No . . . no problem, princess," he managed to get out.

She lay back against his chest again, sighing in contentment, and was soon snoring softly. Kristoff followed soon after, thinking as he drifted off to sleep that there was nowhere he would rather be than here.

* * *

In the morning, they dressed and ate some food from the bag of supplies. It wasn't much of a meal, but it would do for now (though Anna privately wished for some chocolate). Despite the weather still being cool, she felt much warmer than she had the previous day. _Maybe there's something to the trolls' reputation as "love experts", after all,_ she thought.

Kristoff kept his word, and took her to visit said trolls in the Valley of the Living Rock. After recounting the previous day's ordeal (and Kristoff's solution), Grand Pabbie merely smiled and wished them well, and Bulda hugged them both, whispering "That's my boy!" to Kristoff.

When they returned to Arendelle, a day later than planned, Queen Elsa was understandably relieved to see them both safe and well. When she inquired about the circumstances of the delay, Kristoff told her about the storm. However, Anna couldn't help but have a bit of fun at his expense.

"Kristoff and I slept together in a cave!" she told Elsa, trying not to laugh out loud at the Ice Master's mortified reaction.

"You did _WHAT?"_


End file.
